GWRRA - Across the Continents

GWRRA - ACROSS THE CONTINENTS
Wingers 'round the World
By Judith Lorraine Ottosen and William C. Lamb

Mary, Judith, WC, and Frank

{WC} "Blokette" - When I saw that name posted on the GWRRA message board, I just knew it had to be an "Aussie". I conjured up an image: a female version of "Crocodile Dundee", a big woman, all rough-and-tumble and in command of the outback. Tough lady. Probably drives a Subaru wagon, too. Or so I thought. Being the curious type, I fired off an e-mail, a fancy one using HTML stationery, complete with animation. Maybe that'll impress somebody from "down under" I thought. I was right. A reply came in quickly. "How did you do that?" was the gist of the reply. For the next few months, Blokette and I traded e-mails back and forth. Gee, a fifty-something MOF (married old fart) with a foreign pen-pal, teaching his tricks to someone on the other side of the world.

Mary, my wife, asked me, "What are you doing writing to a stranger?"
"It's the Internet", I replied. "I can send mail around the world and I don't have to pay for postage."
"But why," she asked, "are you writing to another woman?"
"This is no ordinary woman," I said. "She's a GoldWinger!"
No further questions were asked, as Mary had become used to my passion for all things GoldWing, including the people who ride them.

{Judith} When the first e-mail arrived from William I couldn't believe my eyes. I had NEVER seen e-mail like that before. That e-mail sat in my inbox for I don't know how long, as at that stage I was not confident enough to save it, in case I lost some of it. I wrote straight back and William very kindly sent details of how I too could do it. It didn't take too long before I could "steal" stationery with the best of them. Next came the embedded music in the e-mail which I am still trying to master. William and I soon formed a firm friendship with our bikes as the foundation and our interest in each other's computing skills, lifestyles and families cementing it.

{WC} By the time a few weeks had passed, I'd gotten to know Judith Lorraine Ottosen, the "Blokette", fairly well. I'd visited her website and read about the amazing odyssey she and husband Frank had touring the USA in 1997. I saw from the pictures on her web page that she was not AT ALL what I'd imagined. In fact, standing next to Frank, she looked rather "vertically challenged", as they say. No resemblance to my mental image at all. Why, she didn't even have a machete!

By April, it was clear that Judith and Frank were coming stateside. Touring North America again, and this time planning on going to WingDing in Billings. That's a long way from home in New Jersey. Too bad I didn't have the vacation time to go out West. Judith sent me an itinerary. They'd be coming east along the US/Canadian border before heading for Winchester, VA. They planned on coming through Niagara Falls. Why, that's only 400 miles away! Mary and I could go for a weekend! Maybe we'd have a chance to meet! But how does one set up a rendezvous place for people from 12,000 miles away, with any hope you'll actually meet up?

Growing up in Rochester (New York) I'd spent a lot of time at Niagara Falls in my younger days. I knew Victoria Park on the Canadian side fairly well, and knew the Falls hadn't moved much since last time I was there. So , I set up a date, time, and place where I thought we'd be sure to meet. A re-shuffle of the Ottosen's itinerary ensured that we could all meet. The plans were made.

July 15th finally arrived. Judith and I had been maintaining contact via e-mail during the whole time the Ottosens were on the road, travelling about the USA and Canada, all thanks to the marvels of the Internet and miniature computers. Now was the time! Saturday morning broke gray and dreary with threats of rain. We couldn't let that stop us. Mary and I mounted up early and headed off to Niagara Falls. Gotta' go early... gotta' be there at noon... gotta' make sure we're there on time... can't blow this meeting... they've come over 12,000 miles! I was nervous as could be.

{Judith} I, too, panicked all morning. What if we were late for our meeting at Niagara's Horseshoe Falls. Just when it seemed we would be on time, we saw all the people and all the cars and thought "Oh no! No parking!" Frank tried to find somewhere to park, but had to keep going as every place was filled. Eventually we saw a sign -- "Parking Ahead - you are not lost". After hastily finding a place, Frank and I jumped on the shuttle bus back to the Falls overlook, then spotted ALL THOSE PEOPLE! Heavens, how are we ever going to find them here?

{WC} Mary and I crossed over the Rainbow Bridge about 11:15 AM, cleared Canadian customs, and found our way to Victoria Park. Now, where to park? Every parking space is full... oh, God, they've put up the "LOT FULL" sign and noon's approaching. We're gonna' be late! There's gotta' be room for a motorcycle. A young Canadian fellow stepped up, and motioned us to a crosshatched area at the end of a row in the lot right across from the visitor center. What luck! We were parking in the ideal location. "Quick, Mary, cover the bike, I'll grab the camera and tripod." We've got to get across the street to our predestined meeting place.

Five to noon. WE MADE IT! WE'RE HERE! WE'RE ON TIME! Now the wait to see if our fellow GWRRA members would make it too. But wait! I hadn't counted on SO many tourists on a Saturday afternoon in July... How could they ever find us in that crowd? Would our GWRRA reflector vests aid them in finding us? After all, we were the only ones wearing them. I kept on circling, hoping the lettering on the back would be visible 360 degrees around. And tourists kept asking me directions, distracting me and ruining my focus on finding "the Blokette" and her hubby.

Ten after noon... "Hey, Mary, here comes someone our way. Hey, IT'S THEM! THEY FOUND US! Hey, Judith! Hi, Frank! Hey, WE DID IT! You're HERE!"

{Judith} It was no problem. Bill and Mary were the only two standing around looking, looking, looking, and wearing wet weather gear and bright GWRRA vests. Once we'd spotted them, Bill and Mary had to remove their orange vests, as so many tourists kept asking them for directions. Those vests made them look like they worked there. It got to be quite funny.

{WC} After exchanging a round of hugs and kisses, we shot a few photos, and being hungry, went to lunch in the visitor center overlooking the Horseshoe Falls -- Judith and I had the "traditional fare" for North of the border... chicken burritos... Frank had an Italian veal dish and Mary chose a roast beef sandwich. International fare in keeping with our meeting. We talked and ate and ate and talked. We discovered many things about each other, our families, and our respective lives, all the time conversing as if we'd known each other forever. After hogging some of the prime dining space for an hour and a half, we set upon a walking tour of the falls area, strolling through the flower gardens, laughing, telling stories, taking photos and complaining about all them darned tourists blocking our view!


American Falls & Rainbow Bridge	American Falls	Horseshoe Falls

Mary & William	The "Maid of the Mist"	Frank & Judith
Photos By Frank

{Judith} We had a wonderful time together and the photo I like best and the one probably no-one will ever see is of Bill sitting on the grass trying to take off his wet weather pants. What a sight, we all know what a job that is.

{WC} The hours passed quickly, and the sky kept getting darker. We knew that soon we'd have to bid our newfound friends farewell and let them continue on their journey. And we had to continue on our own.

{Judith} Bill and Mary gave us lots of goodies from their area including some maple syrup candy. Unfortunately it started to "weep" so we couldn't take it home to share and had to eat the WHOLE lot ourselves. What a shame! The time to leave came all too soon as did the rain -- but what a memorable day. It was so good to meet face to face and I am sure that we will correspond for many years to come.

{WC} Yes, the rain was coming. It began as we crossed over the Rainbow Bridge back into New York. But, you know there's something comforting about riding in the rain after an emotional farewell... the raindrops on your face hide the tears...

We've met many people through GWRRA, and they've all been wonderful. Never did we realize the doors that would open when we bought our Gold Wing and became members of GWRRA. I've corresponded with many of the message board "regulars" and met a few in person. But there will always be something special about one certain Saturday in July, when we became friends with people we met from the other side of the world.